(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Assuming he goes the distance, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (pictured) (D-Hillside) is halfway through his time leading the House of Representatives.

“I gotta tell you,” said Welch, “it’s been the honor of a lifetime. I can’t believe it’s been five years already, and we’ve had some great policy victories under my leadership. I’m proud of the ban on assault weapons, I’m proud of (the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act) and the new energy bill we passed. I’m proud of the transit bill we passed, and Illinois just continues to climb in so many different national rankings, and that’s no accident. It takes great leadership and leadership working together to get big things done.”

Both chambers imposed term limits when Welch and Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) took their places atop their respective chambers.

Speaking shortly before the state’s new lawsuit against the federal government was announced, Welch said, “ICE is out of control,” adding Illinois will continue to take an aggressive stance in court. “We’ve been winning in these court battles. If they don’t respect us, we’re gonna make them respect us.”

Superminority Republicans sometimes accuse Welch of failing to be bipartisan. But Welch – saying Republicans are included but need to “participate and vote” – says his rule to only call a bill if it has sixty committed House Democrat Yes votes (the minimum needed for a bill to pass the House) is about bringing his caucus together. “I would like our caucus to be on the same page first. The caucus likes that rule. It makes us work together. It makes us work harder. It makes us work smarter. And if you can get sixty diverse Democrats on some of these contentious issues, most of those things pass in a bipartisan way overwhelmingly.”

The current makeup of the House is 78 Democrats and forty Republicans.

Representatives’ first session day of 2026 is Jan. 20.